Darkness Arisen Read Free Page A

ocean. He thrust more effort into his kicks, but the current still hauled them both down toward the pit.
    There was a wail, a high-pitched scream as if the ocean itself was a scorned woman being murdered, and then a burst of cold water wrenched Alice from his grasp, catapulting her ruthlessly toward the chasm.
    Anguish ricocheted through him as she slipped out of his reach again, and he saw the dark shadows of demons rise to take her. The curse rose with opportunistic speed, shoving its way through his shields with lethal determination. She is lost. You have failed. Die with her.
    For a split second, the curse was too powerful, and Ian swore, gripping his head against the onslaught of doom and despair trying to take him, trying to force him to give up, to suck him into such hopelessness that the only option was to surrender to death and kill himself.
    For months, he'd fought the despair, keeping his shields up as he'd searched for Alice. But he'd had to open himself completely to connect with her this time, which gave him no defenses against the terror of her death. It was too late to block their connection, and the curse was taking advantage, preying on his need for her. He knew instantly that his only chance was to open his connection with her even further, to plunge into the very thing that made him vulnerable, and to use his need to save her life as a fuel to keep himself alive.
    Get out of my head , he ordered the curse, keeping his gaze focused on Alice, opening himself to her, trying to connect with something stronger than the curse that had killed every one of his male ancestors.
    Alice needs me , he reminded himself, quickly spinning words and truths that would empower him against the curse. She would die without him. She. Will. Die.
    Denial roared through him, as the primal instinct of a Calydon warrior to protect his woman exploded to life. Rage tore him from the grasp of the curse, and he spun toward the chasm, trying to right himself against the raging undertow. He stroked desperately against the water, but he was too far away from her, with nothing to leverage off of to propel himself. All the strength and quickness that made him so deadly on land was useless against the rage of the ocean. It was too late. Those few seconds he'd spent fighting off the curse again had given death the head start it needed. Ian roared with fury as he watched Alice get sucked past the rim of the chasm. Alice!
    You stupid bastard. The voice of his teammate, Ryland Samuels, cut through the despair trying to consume him. We don’t have time to fish you out of there. Don’t you have a fucking angel to save? If you let her die, I will carve you up myself. There was a loud crack and black light flashed from above the surface, and then Ryland's steel machete was streaking through the water, leaving behind a trail of foamy bubbles. Catch a ride before my woman dies. I threw the damn thing as hard as I could, but it won't keep up the speed long in the water.
    Your woman? Fuck that. She's mine. Get your own damn woman. Ian lunged for the machete as it passed by him. His fingers closed on the engraved handle, and he grunted as it yanked him forward, nearly ripping his shoulder out of its socket. He ducked his head against the current to cut down on drag, turning just enough to keep Alice in his range of vision as she fell into the crevasse. He was gaining on her. Getting closer. Closing the gap. Come on! He reached for her mind, but there was no connection. He couldn't access her again. What the hell? She was his soul mate. Why was she so inaccessible to him?
    Closer and closer. Almost there—
    He reached the rim of the crevasse. Only yards away—
    The machete began to slow down, and Ian let go of it as Alice began to pull away from him again. No! He called out his mace and hurled it past her. It slammed into the side of the crevasse just below Alice, its handle sticking out from the wall of the cliff. Alice crashed into it, like a tree